One King in court of St James’ as Mike Ashley steers clear

Newcastle United (0) 1 Hull City (1) 2

A forlorn protest, led by a long-time Newcastle supporter with a banner reading, 'Cockney mafia out,’ was paraded around St James’ Park at the beginning of the second-half on Saturday.

On reaching the directors’ box, to the fury of a support nearing anarchy, the fan, and his helper, were turned around by stewards.

Inside, among the money men and women of Tyneside, Derek Llambias, the managing director, sat alone, untroubled by the demonstrations that gripped a city, flanked by empty seats all around him – one for Mike Ashley, one for Dennis Wise and one for Tony Jimenez. Behind him sat a burly figure, just in case. His was as quiet an afternoon as Bo Myhill, the Hull goalkeeper.

Stoical Ashley and Wise’s absence may not have been, but it was one of the few decisions associated with the 18-month tenure of the current owners that made some semblance of sense. This was not the day for Ashley to try to calm Tyneside after his bungled attempt on Friday evening to somehow convince Kevin Keegan to return.

Hatred dripped from the St James’ Park stands. It was replaced by large segments of concern by the time Hull, led by a manager, Phil Brown, who was beaten up at the same ground as a youngster for being a Sunderland supporter, had sent a dose of reality flooding through the veins of a city in torment.

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Newcastle supporters remember all too well the last time boardroom unrest and managerial instability took their side into the second tier of English football in the Eighties, so do not be surprised if they spend this season with an extremely nervous eye over their shoulder.

Michael Owen, afforded one opportunity all afternoon, wore a face like thunder as he headed down the tunnel. At 28, his career is in tatters; overlooked at international level, underwhelmed at a disintegrating squad that suffered a further blow in injury-time when Danny Guthrie, the summer signing Keegan had heard of, was rightly dismissed for a vicious hack at Craig Fagan.

Without Owen – and why on earth would he sign a new contract? – Newcastle are in serious trouble.

Even their stalwarts let them down in defeat to Hull. Nicky Butt has too much experience to commit the 33rd minute foul that allowed Peter Halmosi to fall and win a justifiable penalty, converted slightly unconvincingly by Marlon King. Brown’s excitement was such that his headset was sent tumbling as he raced onto the St James’ Park turf, fists clenched.

His was a look of disbelief 10 minutes into the second half, when King, fed by Halmosi, turned Charles N’Zogbia with ease before placing a fine finish beyond Shay Given’s right arm. Hull should have gone on to a more comfortable victory, but with nine minutes remaining, the otherwise anonymous duo of N’Zogbia and debutant Xisco, a player Keegan had to watch on YouTube to get to know after his deadline day signing, combined to poach an undeserved consolation, the latter stabbing home from six yards after the full-back’s shot had cannoned off a post.

At the final whistle, Llambias immediately slipped away. An hour later, over a thousand fans remained outside of the main entrance, calling for change, met by more deaf ears.

“It is quite obvious that what you want at the club is not one that has gone through what we have – you want stability,” said Chris Hughton, Newcastle’s caretaker manager. “I haven’t got a clue if I will be in charge for the next game.”

Brown, by contrast, could not stop smiling, ready for a night in Sunderland that would not cost him much. “It’s a great day for Hull,” he said. “It’s a great day for my family. It means a lot.”